Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Codes and Conventions of Horror-Thriller films
- Technical Conventions
- Tilted angles to create a sense of disorientation from the protagonists point of view
- Extreme Close-ups emphasise feelings and emotions
felt
- Long tracking shots set the scene and highlight the scenes
atmosphere
- Point of View shots/ Over the shoulder shots are used to
see the scene from the characters perspective
- Quiet scenes that juxtapose loud, non-degetic sounds to create an effect from the
audience
- Slow paced editing is commonly used to create suspense to set the tone of the
scene
- Location
- Usually set within a remote location
- Any chance of help is far away (there is usually a lack of hope within horror/thrillers)
- Common locations include abandoned buildings such as houses and hospitals
- Thriller-Horrors usually have a 'eery' 'unsettling' atmosphere
- Popular films such as 'Cabin in the Woods' and 'Evil Dead' are
filmed within a deep woodland setting,.
- This creates a disrupted atmosphere, there are no witnesses
or sign of help and communication making the scenes tone
incredibly pessimistic
- Themes & Example Films
- 'Apocalyptic'
- After mass Zombie attacks
- 28
Days
Later
- World War Z
- Zombieland
- 'Paranormal'
- Paranormal activity
- The Conjuring
- The Last Exorcism
- The Exorcist
- The Woman in Black
- 'Shockers'
- The Hills Have Eyes
- Insidious
- Friday the 13th
- Texas Chainsaw Massacre
- Mise-en-scence
- Pathetic Fallacy is commonly used to
set the scenes tone for example a
thunder storm would indicate
something bad was about to happen
- Props
- knives
- weapons
- masks
- artefacts
- distressed car
- every day appliances
- Colour use and connotations
- black to indicate death
- red to indicate fear, blood or danger
- brown and dusky colours to give a
rustic effect and make the setting
look more ancient
- Characters
- Protagonist
- dumb blonde
- usually naive
- a 'cocky' character
- a guilty character
- usually ironically charming
- Antagonist
- Old
- usually influenced by the use of drugs or alcohol
- stereotypically 'creepy' clothes
- Disturbing past makes an
impact on their behaviour
and disicions
- Young
- begins innocent, ends up being psychotic
- traditionally dressed
- troubled
- child - usually has pig tails
or plaits, making them look
overly innocent
- high-pitched 'sweet' voice